


All the Gods' Children

by nu-exo (Nekohime)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Chinguline, Comedy, Demigods, Hand Jobs, M/M, Percy Jackson!AU, like...always, they're pretty chaotic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 00:44:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14726748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekohime/pseuds/nu-exo
Summary: Prompt Code:#190Warnings:Occasional strong language, brief sexual contentSummary:Chanyeol may or may not be a budding mad scientist.  Kyungsoo has a crush on the son of Zeus, which he would eat his left shoe before admitting.  Baekhyun is a sore winner and an all-around terror on a good day.  And Jongdae?  Jongdae causes mayhem with a smile.  Somehow, they all get along, saving each others asses and growing up together through the ups-and-downs of being children of the gods.Author's Note:It had it's stop and go moments but I had a lot of fun writing this!  Percy Jackson is so indicative of my childhood so I'd just like to say thank you to the Prompter for coming up with the idea for an au of it.  I hope you all enjoy reading this.And to the Mods, thank you so much for being so patient with me!! I'm sorry this took so long to get in.





	All the Gods' Children

 

 

 

 

 

“ _Incoming!”_

There was a loud explosion, pink flames soaring up to the sky, carrying with them a sickly-sweet scent. 

“ _Motherfucking shit!_ ” Kyungsoo spat, startling a few of the younger campers on their team.  He covered his nose with the crook of his elbow.  “Chanyeol! Did you make Baekhyun a new set of arrows again?”

“Uh…” Chanyeol trailed off, coughing weakly, his eyes starting to water.  “Maybe?”

Kyungsoo glared at him, the surrounding shadows bending and warping under the force of his ire.  It made the smaller boy look older, more intimidating, the play of shadows sharpening his face.  A not-so-subtle reminder of who his father was.

“What part of that seemed like a _good_ idea?”

 “What was I supposed to do?” Chanyeol whined, generally unfazed in the face of Kyungsoo’s anger, much to the horror of everyone observing their interaction.  “He accused me of liking my machines more than him!”

“He guilt tripped you on purpose you dunce,” Kyungsoo growled, spinning in time to sidestep someone from the blue team who’d leapt out of the brush screaming a battle cry.  He disarmed the kid with two swift parries before knocking him out with the pommel of his sword.

Chanyeol shook his head, eyeing the poor kid who was now out cold.  He couldn’t recognize him in the dark, the still-present flames not providing much help, but Chanyeol would’ve bet money he was from the Ares cabin.  After all, who else besides a child of the war god would think it was a good idea to try and sneak up on a pissed off son of Hades?

“I can’t believe you made weapons for the enemy,” Kyungsoo continued, grumbling as he stalked past Chanyeol in the direction the arrow had come from, ignoring Chanyeol’s indignant huff of _“He’s my boyfriend!”_.  “You couldn’t give him anything else? Like a muzzle?”

“The last batch of trick arrows I gave him had made him so happy though,” Chanyeol defended weakly, easily keeping pace with Kyungsoo. 

They stepped into a clearing, stumbling on and startling a group of team blue campers.  Chanyeol immediately flicked out a small bronze tiger that grew in size the second it touched the ground until it was standing at Chanyeol’s impressive height.  He stayed at the clearing’s edge, content to let Kyungsoo blow off some steam while he got to observe his newest mechanical beast in action.  It was a pet project – pun intended – that he was trying to get Chiron to approve of on the basis that the automatons would be great security against monster attacks.  He’d been waiting for capture the flag to finally test out the upgrades to the automaton’s combat system.

Chanyeol smiled, reaching out a hand as the tiger returned to him, lowering its massive head to be pet.  Judging by how quickly it’d taken out a small troupe of demigods, _without_ injuring them, things were looking good.

Kyungsoo walked over to them, stepping over groaning demigods, a much more relaxed set to his shoulders.  He ran a hand over the tiger’s flank, a slight curl to his lips.

“Looks like the update worked,” he commented, making a pleased noise when the automaton began to let out a whirring purr.

Chanyeol hummed.  “It did.”  He eyed the downed campers.  “Feel better?”

“A little,” Kyungsoo shrugged, his stygian iron sword – a gift from his half-brother, Nico, after the completion of Kyungsoo’s tenth successful mission – held in a deceptively lax grip.  “I’ll feel better once I kick Baekhyun’s ass.”

Chanyeol snorted, pushing off the tree he’d been leaning against.  “You care more about that than winning.”

“He’s annoying when he wins. At anything. Literally the worst,” Kyungsoo grumbled, starting off towards the trees.  Chanyeol followed, letting Kyungsoo lead the way with his sensory abilities, a perk of having a son of Hades on your team.  “He’s not going to win this time. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Chanyeol shook his head fondly, the entertainment factor of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s constant bickering not having worn off, even after five years of knowing the two.  It would’ve worried Chanyeol more if he didn’t know that both boys would take a blade for the other in a heartbeat if it came down to it.  That knowledge was the only reason Chanyeol had never gotten offended hearing Kyungsoo rant, on end and in great detail, about the shit that Baekhyun had done and the ways the younger boy was going to get him back.

“You know,” Chanyeol started, smiling when his tiger padded up to his side, gently bumping up against him.  “At this point, Baekhyun probably retreated back to wherever the flag is.”

“Trust me,” Kyungsoo smirked, sending a small shiver of fear for Baekhyun’s sake down Chanyeol’s back.  “I know.”  He twirled his sword in a graceful arc.  “I’m counting on it.”

“Wherever the flag is, though,” Chanyeol continued, “Jongdae probably is also.”

Kyungsoo almost tripped on an exposed root.  Chanyeol bit his lip to hold back his grin.

“So?” Kyungsoo coughed out.

If Chanyeol squinted, he could just make out Kyungsoo’s ears turning pink.  _Fucking bingo_.

“So,” Chanyeol drawled, “Think you can take him too? We won’t win if you let your crush on him get in the way.”

Kyungsoo turned to glare at him, eyes narrowed in a way that would’ve sent a lesser man running.  Luckily, Chanyeol was not a lesser man.  He was a son of Hephaestus with a very poor sense of self-preservation.  It was why he was such a good inventor, and why their friend group existed in the first place.

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Kyungsoo hissed.  “When are you going to get that through your fucking head.”

“Well,” Chanyeol sighed, enjoying the way red was progressively spreading down Kyungsoo’s ears and up his neck.  “I would say ‘admiration’ but I don’t think people generally jerk off to those they just _admire_.”

Kyungsoo spun on Chanyeol so fast he ended up giving himself whiplash, groaning as he brought up a hand to massage his neck.  Chanyeol snorted out a laugh, trying to cover it up with a cough when Kyungsoo glared at him again and failing miserably.

“I don’t do that,” Kyungsoo denied weakly when most of the burning in his neck had passed.

“Mhmm,” Chanyeol hummed, clapping the smaller boy on the back.  “Whatever you say. It’s really not that big a deal, though. I’m sure Jongdae would be flattered if he knew.”

“Tell him and die,” Kyungsoo threatened, the shadows pressing in on them for a second.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes.  “I hope you’re aware you’re friend-zoning yourself. Very actively, too.”

Kyungsoo sighed out his nose.  “Shut up, Chanyeol.”

“You don’t even know how Jongdae feels,” Chanyeol continued, utterly undeterred.  “For all you know, he might like you back.”

Before Kyungsoo could say anything back to that – or just try and kill Chanyeol, capture the flag be damned – Chanyeol’s tiger growled, metallic hackles rising.  It was all the heads up the two demigods got before they heard the whistling of arrows and light exploded around them.

“Fuck!” Chanyeol dropped into a crouch, trying to blink away the stars clouding his vision.  “Defense mode!”

His automaton tossed its head back and roared, panels along its body sliding back to reveal rune covered surfaces, courtesy of Seulgi and a few of her sisters from Circe’s cabin.  The runes glowed a pale blue, shifting until they locked into the necessary position for a basic defense spell.  A barrier immediately spread out, creating a protective bubble around Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, giving their eyes time to acclimate after the flash arrows.

“Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo all but roared.  “When I get my hands on you-“

“You’ll what?” came Baekhyun’s voice from somewhere in the tree line, cutting Kyungsoo off.  “Kill me? But Jongdae would be so sad if you killed his best friend.” 

There was a rustle of movement to their right and Chanyeol – reflexes moving faster than his brain – flicked out his shield, dragging a fuming Kyungsoo behind him with a harsh tug.  Chanyeol barely flinched when the arrows hit his shield, a series of loud _thak_ ’s, his muscles flexing to accommodate for the push back.

“I can’t believe you’re using the gifts I gave you against me!” Chanyeol complained.  “Also, last I checked I didn’t give you any anti-magic arrowheads.”

The next shots came from behind them, Kyungsoo slicing the oncoming arrows with terrifying precision.

“You know Circe’s cabin is on our team this time around, right?” Baekhyun laughed, his voice carrying easily in the dark.

“Where is he?” Chanyeol muttered under his breath, discreetly nudging Kyungsoo with his elbow.

“Give me a sec,” Kyungsoo grumbled back through grit teeth, annoyance radiating off of him in waves as he felt through the shadows for Baekhyun’s location.  In a louder voice: “It was a stupid move to come after us on your own, Baek.”

“Eh,” Chanyeol could _hear_ the shrug in Baekhyun’s tone, “I think I can handle you two.”

Kyungsoo bristled, back tensing up against Chanyeol’s.  “Cocky mother fucker.”

Chanyeol frowned, ignoring the petty bickering, gears in his head turning.  There was something off here.  Baekhyun was the best shot in Apollo’s cabin and knew it, but he also knew his limits.  There was no way he could hold off both of them, so why was he…

Chanyeol’s eyes widened.  He did a quick mental tally of the number of campers still left in play, then calculated a quick estimation of how far he and Kyungsoo had moved from the red team’s flag.

Chanyeol tugged on Kyungsoo’s sleeve, practically vibrating with excitement at his revelation.  “Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo!”

“What?” Kyungsoo snapped.

“He’s all that’s left of their border patrol.”

“What do you mean?” the smaller boy grunted, deflecting another arrow.  “And if you aren’t going to use that shield, then give it over.”

Chanyeol spared a moment of silence for his automaton’s barrier, watching the holes that had formed slowly grow.  “Baek’s their last line before Jongdae and their flag!”

Chanyeol watched the words sink in on Kyungsoo’s face, surprise flicking across his features before it was pushed out by a foreboding smirk.

Another barrage of arrows came flying, Chanyeol catching them on his shield with ease.

“What’re you guys gossiping about over there?” Baekhyun asked.  His tone was casual enough, but Chanyeol knew him too well to not catch the slight uptick in pitch, giving away the fact that Baekhyun was worried.

“Baekhyun or Jongdae. Pick,” Chanyeol told Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo pressed his lips into a line.  “If you go, would you actually be able to handle Jongdae?”

Chanyeol snorted.  “You kids of the Big Three really underestimate the rest of us sometimes. I’ll be fine. If you stay, you sure you’re not going to accidentally get taken out by Baekhyun?”

Kyungsoo sniffed.  “I’ll be sure not to maim your boyfriend.”

More arrows, this time hitting Chanyeol’s shield with enough force to push him back a little.  A sign that Baekhyun was getting serious.

“If I were you, I’d be more worried about _him_ maiming _you_ ,” Chanyeol laughed.  “I’ll tell Jongdae you said hi.”

“Chanyeol-“

Chanyeol was up and running, his automaton loping along at his side before Kyungsoo could finish.  He heard the tell-tale _thunk_ of arrows imbedding themselves in metal and made a mental promise to pay Baekhyun back later for using his poor tiger as target practice.  Kyungsoo must’ve made his move, though, because the arrows stopped coming, a loud yelp of surprise ringing out from where Chanyeol had come from.

 

 

Chanyeol slowed down only when the smell of ozone became thick in the air, moving forward silently with measured steps. 

Jongdae wasn’t as tricky as Baekhyun or battle-hungry as Kyungsoo, but he was more merciless than the two combined, being the type to take down opponents with brutal efficiency all while smiling like the sun.  Chanyeol would’ve had to be a fool to charge in guns blazing, especially when the scent of fresh rain, which always followed the use of Jongdae’s abilities, was sitting heavy on Chanyeol’s tongue.

It was obvious there had been fighting, judging by the tufts of red from their team’s helmets and chipped off pieces of armor.  The sharp clang of swords crossing up ahead had Chanyeol tensing up, holding his breath until whatever fighting was happening had stopped.  Not wanting to take any chances when the flag was so close, he pressed a hand to his automaton’s flank, quickly writing out the Greek word for ‘invisible’ with his finger.  The celestial bronze rippled, everything but the ten – Baekhyun was seriously going to pay for that later – arrows sticking out of its back slowly disappearing from sight.

Yanking the arrows out, Chanyeol sent his creation on its way with orders to circle around the clearing.  Now alone, Chanyeol crept forward, shield out and sword unsheathed.  Off in the distance he heard a snarl, followed by the shouts of startled campers.  He’d made it this far without stumbling on any monsters and prayed to every god he could think of that his luck would hold.

Carefully stepping into the clearing, Chanyeol noted three things.  One, all their captured team members – those who hadn’t been left knocked out in the red team’s half of the forest – were sitting grumpily in a large celestial bronze cage.  Two, Chanyeol had been right about Jongdae being their last line of defense.  Three, Jongdae had been waiting for him.

“Hi there,” the son of Zeus called, hand on hip while the other casually twirled his sword.  A habit he shared with Kyungsoo, Chanyeol’s brain helpfully noted.  “Took you long enough.”

Chanyeol inched forward, battle instincts keeping him on edge.  “Guess I’m flattered you assumed we would make it this far. Baekhyun seemed surprised, although he didn’t really show it.”

Jongdae laughed, a loud, friendly sound.  “Baekhyun was sure that between Jongin and Sehun, our team would’ve gotten to your flag first.”  Jongdae tilted his head.  “Actually, what happened to them?”

“Caught and captured,” Chanyeol laughed.  “They didn’t expect Kyungsoo to be camping out along the ten-yard line.”

Jongdae snorted.  “Oh gods. I hope Kyungsoo didn’t jump out of the shadows the way he did last time. Jongin wouldn’t go anywhere near him for months.”

“I can’t say he didn’t.”  Chanyeol edged his way further into the clearing, gaze going back and forth between Jongdae and the blue team’s flag which was perched right on top of Zeus’ Fist.  Chanyeol gestured at the flag with a jut of his chin.  “Isn’t it a bit much, a son of Zeus using Zeus’ Fist as a home base?”

“I thought it was fitting,” Jongdae shrugged, easy smile settled on his face as he tracked Chanyeol’s movement.  “Thalia does the same thing every time we play against the Hunters.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol snorted, “and you call her tacky for it. Every time.”

“Never said it wasn’t,” Jongdae took a step forward and to the left, putting himself in Chanyeol’s path.  The wind picked up around them, ruffling Jongdae’s hair, making him look every bit the Cali boy he was.  “Just that it was fitting.”

Thunder rumbled overhead and Chanyeol tightened his hold on his sword, letting heat rise to the surface of his skin.  Jongdae was gearing up, and Chanyeol had to move quick.  Before he could second guess himself, Chanyeol charged, using his long gait to his advantage and closing the distance between them.  Jongdae bore the brunt of the attack with a grunt and a slight shift in stance, sparks sliding along the blade of his sword.  It was a testament to how _strong_ Jongdae really was, all compact muscle covering his slight frame, that his defense hadn’t crumpled entirely under Chanyeol’s first strike.  Chanyeol spent almost all his time working in his workshop, manning the camp’s forges, or training.  He was, not to brag, one of the strongest campers physically speaking.  Although, he didn’t seem it on first glance either, to be fair.

As it was, though, Jongdae simply smiled at him, muscles in his arms bulging, not looking the least bit put out by the sudden attack.

“That the best you can do?” he needled, starting to push back.

Chanyeol huffed out a laugh.  “You know it isn’t.”

And then Chanyeol’s sword was on fire, flames licking from his elbows to the tip of his blade.  Jongdae, who’d figured out what he was planning just in time to jump back with a strangled yelp, gave Chanyeol a wounded pout.

“Ass,” he grumbled.  When he came at Chanyeol it was with the strength of a storm, figuratively and literally.

The wind ripped at Chanyeol’s clothes and hair, trying to put out his flames as Jongdae swung his sword in dangerously precise strikes.  Chanyeol grit his teeth and tried to meet the smaller demigod strike for strike, compensating for Jongdae’s faster fighting style by blocking with his shield.  Jongdae’s way of fighting was the result of having grown up trailing after Percy whenever the son of Poseidon was at camp, constantly asking the older boy to spar and train with him.  Their personalities meshed better than his with Jason, despite the Grace twin technically being his half-brother (although, Jason being the son of Jupiter instead of Zeus might’ve had a play in that, because Jongdae and Thalia got on thick-as-thieves whenever the Huntress visited), so Percy had always agreed easily.  And when the older son of Poseidon wasn’t available, his younger half-brother Junmyeon, or Nico if he was around, would step in.  All this, and the young age Jongdae had been thrown into this lifestyle, meant that Jongdae would almost always have the upper hand in a prolonged fight.  A fact Chanyeol was painfully aware of.

Chanyeol was strong, but even strength had its limits in the face of strength, speed, and experience.  But, that didn’t mean he couldn’t hold his own if he had to. 

With a shout, Chanyeol bashed Jongdae with his shield and swung his sword, flames rushing and swirling around them.  The wind hadn’t done much to put them out, making them stronger if anything, more difficult to control, sure, but undeniably stronger.  They eagerly whipped around, trapping the two demigods in the center of a fiery vortex.

It was a gamble on Chanyeol’s part.  Jongdae would switch from defense to offense, which was dangerous enough, but there was also the _tiny_ fact that Chanyeol hadn’t _quite_ mastered this move yet.

Jongdae looked at the raging dome of fire surging around them with suspicion, that little matter evidently not escaping his memory either.

“Hey, Chanyeol?” Jongdae had to shout to be heard.

“Yeah?” Chanyeol shouted back.

“You didn’t happen to figure out how to keep all the air from being burned up when you do this, did you?”

“Nope,” Chanyeol called cheerily.  “I suggest breathing _really carefully_.”

Jongdae paled, then shrieked: “ _Chanyeol, why?”_

“En Garde!” Chanyeol chirped, lunging forward, attacking with renewed vigor. 

When later asked, Chanyeol would say he drove Jongdae into a corner, fighting heroically and buying enough time for Kyungsoo to catch up and snatch the flag before the son of Zeus turned the tables on him, knocking him out.

In reality, things went like this:

Chanyeol, in the spur of the moment, got too excited, his flames burning stronger than intended, eating through their oxygen supply faster than expected.  Chanyeol, who’s taller and was therefore closer to the thinner air, ended up blacking out mid-swing.  He collapsed with his manic, twitchy smile – Jongdae’s description, not his, Chanyeol thought there was nothing wrong with his smile – allowing Jongdae to get rid of the fire with his own abilities.  While Jongdae was freaking out over an unconscious Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s automaton snuck up and snagged the flag.  At which point Kyungsoo used shadow travel to ferry it back to their side of the creek, winning the game.

“So, if it weren’t for my bold sacrifice, we wouldn’t have won,” Chanyeol surmised sunnily, munching away at a bag of chips Baekhyun had smuggled in to the infirmary for him.

Kyungsoo snorted while Jongdae laughed.  “That is not, in any way, what I just said.”

“Sure it is,” Chanyeol chirped.  Next to him, Baekhyun chuckled, reaching up to brush away the stray crumbs gathering on the taller demigod’s face.  Chanyeol the ever-obliging boyfriend, leaned his head over to allow better access, getting pinched for his efforts.  “I’m glad you appreciate the weight of my good deeds, Soo. But, I did it for the good of the team, so there’s no need to thank me.”

“What? No- I wasn’t- you’re seriously- ,“ Kyungsoo sputtered, his face doing very interesting things, although every expression very clearly screamed _Are you and idiot?_   “You’re doing this on purpose.”

Chanyeol’s smile widened.  “Doing what on purpose?”

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at him, hands slowly clenching into fists.  He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Jongdae was pushing back his chair and dragging him off, happily ignoring all of Kyungsoo’s startled flailing.

“Chanyeol is _injured_ , Kyungsoo.”  He wasn’t really, though.  “We don’t go around punching patients. It’s not nice.”

“Jongdae, wha-,” Kyungsoo struggled, face steadily turning pinker and pinker.

“We’ll give you two some alone time. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

And then they were gone.

“He knows,” Baekhyun announced after they’d both been staring at the door for at least five minutes.

Chanyeol snorted.  “Of course, he knows. Jongdae isn’t stupid, and Kyungsoo might as well walk around with a neon sign floating over his head saying, ‘I Love Jongdae Kim!’”

A wide grin grew on Baekhyun’s face, eyes glinting with a light that was all too familiar and didn’t bode well for Kyungsoo.  “Now there’s a thought.”

“Kyungsoo might actually kill you for that,” Chanyeol hummed contemplatively around a mouthful of chips.  “And, as much as I love you, I’m not keen on the idea of going down to the Underworld to get your soul back.”

Baekhyun laughed at that, eyes curving up into sweet crescents.  He braced himself against the edge of the bed, leaning closer until his face was centimeters from Chanyeol’s, breaths coming out in puffs against Chanyeol’s mouth.

He gently bumped their noses together.  “Liar.”

Chanyeol didn’t bother denying it.  Instead, he pouted.  “You shot my tiger. My months of hard work has _ten_ holes in it.”

Baekhyun chuckled, the sound vibrating on Chanyeol’s skin from the proximity.  In the soft afternoon light – because apparently Chanyeol had slept late into the next day – Baekhyun seemed to glow.

“I think,” he leaned impossibly closer, his lips brushing against Chanyeol’s on each word, “I have an idea about how to make it up to you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So.” Jongdae sat up in time to catch the bottle of Gatorade Thalia chucked at him.  “Any progress?”

Jongdae frowned as he downed half of the sports drink in one go, his brain too exhausted after hours of sparring with his sister to parse out her meaning.  Thalia snorted, rolled her eyes, and then slid her gaze meaningfully over to where Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were sparring to the cheers of some of their younger campers.  Jongdae watched the ease with which Kyungsoo moved, his sword play deceptively simple and straightforward on first glance.  It was part of what made Kyungsoo such a dangerous opponent.  The second you got comfortable fighting him, he’d pull out a move that threw you suddenly off balance, changing the flow of the fight in one fell swoop.

Jongdae watched Kyungsoo floor Baekhyun, smug smile adorning the younger demigod’s face, before turning back to Thalia.  “I don’t know what you mean.”

Thalia tossed back her head, laughing loudly.

“It’s rude to laugh at someone else’s misery, Thalia,” Jongdae sniffed.

“Gods,” her eyes were bright blue, glowing with mirth.  “You’re even worse than Seaweed Brain was!”

Jongdae rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the sparring that had started up again.  It was easier to watch Kyungsoo fight than to deal with his sister when she was in a nosy mood.  Much, much easier.

“You know,” Thalia started, once she’d calmed down a bit.  “It’s not that hard. Even Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over there managed to get together.”

“That’s because Chanyeol has a weird amount of courage for someone so terrified of birds, and Baekhyun’s brain to mouth filter is nonexistent,” Jongdae sighed.  “With Kyungsoo it’s just…different.”

“How?” Thalia frowned.

Jongdae hummed.  “Even if it takes more time, it just feels wrong for me to be the one to take the first step?”  When Thalia looked even more confused – an expression that was mildly scary when coupled with the intensity of her features – he continued.  “It just feels like it should be Kyungsoo who takes that step, when he’s ready, and not before. Otherwise, I get the feeling it might do more harm than good.”

Thalia still looked confused but didn’t press.  “If you’re sure.”

Jongdae watched Kyungsoo disarm Baekhyun with a move he’d taught him years ago and knock the son of Apollo right between his eyes with the pommel of his sword, smiling softly at the sight.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Why do we fall for this _every single time?”_

Baekhyun groaned and Jongdae pat Kyungsoo on the back, a shallow attempt at calming the younger boy.  Chanyeol smiled at all of them as if the fucking sun shined out of his ass.

“Welcome!”

“Too loud,” Kyungsoo grumbled.

“Welcome!” Chanyeol started again, even louder this time, ignoring the murderous glare he was getting.  “To round,” he rifled through a well-worn, school notebook, “twenty-three of Experiment Day!”

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo muttered darkly, eyes narrowed at the tall idiot hauling out a massive box that shook and rattled every minute or so from whatever was inside.  “I might kill your boyfriend.”

“It’s ass o’clock in the morning,” Baekhyun grumbled back, the hair on the left side of his head defying gravity in the most interesting ways.  “I’ll help you hide the body.”

“Don’t be like that,” Chanyeol cheered, and really, _how the fuck was he so awake right now?_  

Chanyeol had practically kicked open the door to Hades’ cabin that morning, vibrating with energy in a way that suggested he hadn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours, scaring Kyungsoo awake so badly that he threw his dagger on instinct.  Kyungsoo, the furthest thing from a morning person and with his heart still beating like crazy in his chest, decidedly did _not_ apologize.

Literally the only upside was that Jongdae had huddled close when Kyungsoo had finally emerged from his cave of a cabin, trying to leech body heat off of the slightly shorter boy.  Kyungsoo had never been happier that he ran warmer than usual for a child of the Underworld.

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae whined sleepily, shivering in the dewy morning air.  “Just get on with it so we can go back to bed before breakfast.”

“Where’s your sense of discovery?” Chanyeol chided, busying himself around the giant box, which was still rattling with the force of whatever was inside it. 

If Kyungsoo looked closely, he could make out Chanyeol’s right eye twitching ever so slightly.

“My sense of discovery doesn’t start working until at least noon,” Baekhyun sassed.  “Please hurry the fuck up, I’m in charge of archery practice today and need a solid four more hours of sleep before I have to go deal with a bunch of children with pointy objects.”

Chanyeol loped over like a fucking fairy princess to give Baekhyun a kiss on his forehead, earning a disgruntled whine in response.

“Language, Baek.”

“Fucking bite me.”

“Maybe later,” Chanyeol smiled, patting Baekhyun on the head, swiftly dodging Baekhyun’s attempt to swipe at him and ignoring the groans of disgust from Kyungsoo and Jongdae.  “Now, where was I?”

“Sense of discovery?” Jongdae drawled.

“Right!”

“Oh gods, don’t encourage him,” Kyungsoo groaned, dropping his head in his hands.

Jongdae gave him a sheepish smile, scratching at his neck as Chanyeol launched into a spiel about the trials and tribulations of being a modern-day Einstein, which Kyungsoo ignored in favor of tracing the way Jongdae’s biceps bulged with the movement.

“So, without further ado!”

 _Huh?_   Kyungsoo immediately whipped his head forward, drawn out of his fantasies of very hot wall sex involving Jongdae using every single beautiful muscle by a foreboding feeling crawling up his spine.

“Behold!”  Chanyeol undid a complicated series of latches and locks on the box, the thrashing inside growing stronger with each contraption that came undone.

It was with dawning horror that Kyungsoo realized that there were sealing spells etched into the celestial bronze of the box.  And that it wasn’t a box, but a cage.  A giant cage.

“Chanyeol wait-“

“Designation Camp Guard 5.0! Joltik!”

“Isn’t that a Pokemon?” Baekhyun mumbled around a yawn.

The cage door fell open with a thud and there were suddenly four pairs of glowing, mechanical eyes looming at them from the darkness.  An ominous chittering trickled out of the cage. 

“It’s alive!” Chanyeol crowed, right before the cage all but exploded.

“ _Mother fucker!”_ Kyungsoo choked, skittering back while Jongdae yanked a fear-frozen Baekhyun out of the way.  “ _Why the fuck did you build a giant spider?_ ”

“It’s not just a spider,” Chnayeol pouted, as if he wasn’t a seventeen-year old mad scientist.  As if he hadn’t made a spider automaton the size of a hellhound.  “It’s modeled after a Pokemon. But bigger. Her official title is Joltik: Super-Sized, but I just call her Betsy.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t really do anything but stare as the massive spider chittered at them, taking a menacing step forward, beady eyes trained on them.  All he could think was that he’d left his sword back in his cabin, leaning up against his bed, and that he was facing down a likely murderous robot in nothing but his pajamas.

“Well? What do you guys think?”

“ _Chanyeol-_ “

It was at that moment that Baekhyun’s brain finally seemed to catch up to the awful, awful situation.  Kyungsoo honestly did not know that Baekhyun could reach that octave, but apparently true terror could take one to new heights. 

The spider immediately zeroed in on Baekhyun’s screaming, launching itself into the air so fast it was almost a blur.  They all screamed.  Before it could reach Baekhyun the sky split, a bolt of lightning crashing down into the automaton, bringing it crashing to the ground in a smoking heap of twisted metal and fried wiring.

They all stood frozen for a heartbeat, breathing heavily in the sudden silence.  Belatedly realizing that his new creation had been about to kill his boyfriend, Chanyeol ran over to Baekhyun, taking him off of Jongdae’s hands and cradling the smaller boy as he tried not to hyperventilate.

“Nice shot,” Kyungsoo managed out, still eyeing the destroyed bot just in case Jongdae’s strike somehow hadn’t completely taken it out of commission.

“Hah, thanks,” Jongdae chuckled, an edge of hysteria in his voice.

“Fuck,” Kyungsoo breathed, running a shaky hand through his still sleep mussed hair.  “It’s way too early for all this.”

“ _Hades_ , what the fuck happened here?”

As one, all four boys turned wide-eyes on the newcomer, finding themselves greeted by the sight of a _very_ unhappy Junmyeon.  He was dressed in a Harvard shirt and flannel pants that had definitely seen better days, though, to be fair, the college student looked like that in general right now.  His hair was sticking up in different directions, and he still had sleep lines on his face.  Although that didn’t really do much to lessen the murderous intent rolling off the older boy in palpable waves.

“Why the _ever-loving fuck_ are you up so _early_ , blowing things up?” he half shrieked.

All four teenagers stood stock still.

“Holy Hera,” Baekhyun stage whispered.  “He just _cursed_.”

“Twice,” Kyungsoo whispered back, unable to help himself.  “Three times if you count him saying Hades.”

Jongdae snorted, and Chanyeol giggled, slapping a hand over his mouth immediately.  But, once they’d started, they couldn’t really stop, and then they were all trying to muffle and choke back laughter.

It was probably the most inappropriate thing to do at that moment, since they were probably about to get grounded, for like, life, but none of them were really in the right frame of mind after such an intense adrenaline rush.  Junmyeon, the upstanding, twenty-one year old that he was, looked like he was going to pop a vessel, and holy shit Kyungsoo had never seen the usually cool-headed son of Poseidon so _mad_.

“You know what, forget it.”  Junmyeon jabbed his finger in the direction of the Big House.  “Walk. This is Chiron’s problem anyway.”

 

They all ended up on kitchen duty for a week – different shifts to decrease the possibility for more chaos – but they unanimously decided it had been worth it in the end when Chanyeol revealed that he’d caught Junmyeon in all his pajama’d glory, cursing like the college student he most definitely was, on film (“I’d wanted to record the test run for my archives.”).

 

 

 

 

 

 

“ _Why_ ,” Baekhyun complained between pants, “Does this _always_ happen when we go on retrieval missions together?”

“Just shut up and keep running,” Kyungsoo growled, yanking Baekhyun and the boy they were sent to bring back to Camp down an alleyway, just in time to avoid being impaled by a thrown spear.

Behind them, the Empousai shrieked.

With a frustrated growl, Baekhyun came to a harsh stop, turning and notching three arrows.  He fired them a second before the Empousai turned the corner to follow, two of them bursting into dust upon contact, the third Empousa catching it on a shield while the fourth ducked back around the corner.  Without pause, Baekhyun kept the barrage up, smirking when the Empousa that had a shield was forced back to where her friend was.

“Hurry up and call Mrs. O’Leary already!” Baekhyun barked.  He still had a second, full quiver of arrows – the nice ones Chanyeol had made for him – but he didn’t want to stick around for when the monsters' back-up arrived.  “Kyungsoo!”

“I’m trying!” Kyungsoo yelled back, shadows pulsing for a beat.

The young boy – Mark Lee, a son of Hermes who they’d plucked out of his new foster home just as his foster parents had started to grow fangs – whimpered.

Baekhyun couldn’t blame the kid.  He remembered when he’d first been found by Annabeth and Leo.  It had been a suitably horrifying experience that Baekhyun still sometimes had nightmares about.  He was also sure it didn’t help that he and Kyungsoo were scratched up and singed around the edges. 

_Fuck Empousai and their stupid fire hair, his jeans had been new damn it._

Baekhyun shot an arrow when one of the Empousa tried to peek around the corner, immediately notching another.  Five left in his first quiver.

“Kyungsoo, you might want to hurry.”

“Be ready,” Kyungsoo called back.

Before Baekhyun could ask, _Be ready for what?_ A loud howl ripped down the alleyway, pushing the two remaining Empousai out into the open from the sheer force of it.  Without pause, Baekhyun fired off two, well aimed arrows, catching the Empousai in their stupid donkey legs just to be petty.  They died with matching wails, horrible sounds that made the hairs on Baekhyun’s neck stand on end.

Mrs. O’Leary, in all her giant shagginess, came into view, then, swiping her tail over the Empousai ashes.  She barked again, the sound shaking the windows of the buildings around them and came bounding over, stopping just short of squashing Baekhyun.

“Good girl,” he cooed, scratching behind the hellhound’s ear, letting out a muted _oomf!_ as she dropped more of her weight on him.

Kyungsoo came over, Mark trailing behind as he stared up at Mrs. O’Leary in undisguised awe.

“We should get moving, she can’t make the jump back to Camp with three people on her back and the city is crawling with monsters looking for Mark right now. The less time we spend in one spot, the better.”

Baekhyun gave him a jaunty salute, a bodyful of hellhound still trying to smother him with love.  “Aye, aye captain.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, sighing out his nose at Baekhyun.  He brought Mrs. O’Leary to heel with a quick brush down her flank and helped hoist Mark up onto the hellhound’s back.  Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at the little boy’s expression as he settled himself behind the giant dog’s neck.  Being able to ride a dog like a horse was a truly novel experience.

Once everyone was situated, Kyungsoo patted the hellhound’s back.  “We’re good to go, Mrs. O’Leary.”

The hellhound barked happily, trashcans tipping over around them, and launched herself straight at the wall, the shadows welcoming them.

They came out in Bryant park, startling a bunch of random bystanders.  Baekhyun always wondered what mortals saw through the Mist when they rode around on Mrs. O’Leary’s back, considering how the looks they got were never as weirded out as they should’ve been.

“She needs a quick break to recharge,” Kyungsoo sighed, already hauling himself off her back.  “There’s enough humans here that we should be okay for a little bit.”

Baekhyun followed suit and helped Mark down, ruffling the boy’s hair when he turned big, shining eyes on him.

“You hungry?” Baekhyun asked, chuckling when the little boy’s stomach grumbled as if on cue.  “Come on, then. Let’s get you something to eat.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kyungsoo asked, eyes narrowed.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes.  “The kid is hungry, Soo. What do you want me to do? Starve him?”

Kyungsoo seemed to flounder a bit before his stomach also made a loud gurgling noise.  His ears pinked as he stalked past a giggling Baekhyun and Mark.  “Fine.”

They left Mrs. O’Leary drinking from the fountain and made their way across the street, Baekhyun leading their charge into Kinokuniya.

“You just want to come in here to buy something for Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo accused as they rode the escalator up to the second floor.

“They have good, quick food here,” Baekhyun defended, walking into the small café area, uncaring of the stares their battered state was getting.  “But yes, I’d like to get him something since we’re here so,” he pulled out a chair at the window facing counter for Mark, “You guys order and I’ll be right back. Just get me a rice ball or something.”

Baekhyun moved with purpose through the shelves, smiling softly at the memory of the first time Chanyeol had brought him here.  The taller boy had been so excited to have company, he’d talked for hours about which series were his favorites and why, eyes glowing with so much happiness that Baekhyun had caved and gotten him a One Piece figure on the spot.  Now, Baekhyun knew the store’s layout like the back of his hand and easily found the section he was looking for, buying three of the gacha boxes, walking back to the café section with the bag swinging happily on his wrist.

“You didn’t,” he snorted upon arrival, looking at the large Gudetama plushy sitting in front of Kyungsoo.

“It’s his favorite character,” the younger demigod responded weakly, seemingly mortified by his own impulse buy.

Baekhyun patted Kyungsoo’s shoulder, trying in vain to hold back his laughter.  “He’s gonna love it, Soo.”

Kyungsoo made a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

“He’d probably love it more if you, you know, actually asked him on a date, though.”

Kyungsoo buried his face in his hands, his ears an amazing shade of red.  Mark watched on in amusement, munching on a melon bread.  “Please shut up.”

Baekhyun clapped him on the shoulder again.  “I just hope you know, I have $50 on you two dating before we start college.”

“You _what?”_

“Also, we should probably go because I think I see a cyclops lumbering its way down the street.”

Kyungsoo mumbled some very creative curses under his breath as the three of them quickly left the bookstore and darted across the street to where Mrs. O’Leary was terrorizing a bunch of pigeons.

 

Chanyeol loved his gifts and forgave Baekhyun for accidentally knocking one of his latest gizmos off his work bench the last time they fucked.  Jongdae apparently loved his gift, too, because Kyungsoo spent a good three days walking around in a happy haze, not even minding when Baekhyun filched food off his plate during dinner.

They may have caused a bit of mayhem mowing down the cyclops to escape, but the kid was safe and sound amongst his siblings in Hermes’ cabin, Baekhyun’s relationship was sunny again, and Kyungsoo seemed to be open to the idea of making actual progress on the get-with-Jongdae front, which made the mission an all-in-all success in Baekhyun’s book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Jongdae, sparring with Kyungsoo always felt like a private affair.  The way they fought, crashing against each other like two unstoppable forces, exchanging blows until they were both breathing heavy, always felt too intimate for the eyes of onlookers.

It was why Jongdae always caught Kyungsoo in the evenings, during the weird limbo between Camp lessons ending and dinner starting when everyone had a little too much energy to rest.  Jongdae knew from unfortunate personal experience that Baekhyun and Chanyeol used the time to fuck away all their excess energy, and even then they’d still be menaces later, running around the dinner pavilion like five-year olds instead of soon to be college students.  In Jongdae’s opinion, this, fighting with Kyungsoo until his muscles screamed from just the effort of lifting his arms, was just as good.

“You’re distracted,” Kyungsoo accused, breathing only slightly heavier than usual despite the fact that they’d been at it for a good thirty minutes already.

 _His stamina’s improved._   “Am I?”

Kyungsoo huffed, combing his sweat damp fringe out of his eyes, and didn’t that send a burst of heat racing through Jongdae’s veins, settling in the pit of his stomach to simmer and build.

“You are.”  He bit his lip, and Jongdae’s breath hitched.  “Do you want to stop early today? We don’t need to do this if you aren’t feeling well, I mean it’s already a favor to me that you agreed to this in the first pl-“

“Soo,” Jongdae laughed, poking the younger demigod with his wooden practice sword.  “It’s fine. My mind just wandered a bit.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo’s ears went pink.  He scratched at his neck.  “Okay. Cool.”

Jongdae snorted, and then attacked, smiling when Kyungsoo easily blocked, falling back into the familiar rhythm of their sparring as if it were second nature.

This was probably the main reason Jongdae enjoyed this so much.  Whatever weird tension appeared in the air when it was only the two of them completely evaporated once they started to fight.  They’d both get so caught up in not giving the other an inch that they’d forget all sense of personal boundaries, pulling at clothes, twisting limbs, pushing until something gave and one of them fell.

Sometimes it was Jongdae.  Usually it was Kyungsoo.

“What was that about me being distracted?” Jongdae laughed above Kyungsoo, straddling his waist and pressing the flat of his practice sword against his throat.

Kyungsoo struggled under him, fire burning in his eyes as he tried to reach for his sword.

“Nuh-uh,” Jongdae used his own sword to knock Kyungsoo’s further out of the way, using his forearm to keep his upper body pinned.  He laughed again, turning back to give Kyungsoo his best smug smirk.  “Nice tr-“

Oh.  Wow.  Kyungsoo’s face was suddenly a lot closer than before.  Jongdae gulped, feeling his blood rush south and his neck heat up.  Kyungsoo stared up at him, eyes owl-wide, pretty lips parted ever so slightly.  If Jongdae wasn’t mistaken, and it’d be hard to be considering how he was currently pressed up against Kyungsoo’s body, he wasn’t breathing.

A little voice that sounded suspiciously like Baekhyun was yelling at him to just lean down and kiss him already.  But they were out in the open, anyone could stumble across them, they really should get up-

“ _Fuck it._ ”

Jongdae blinked, his brain catching up to the fact that he hadn’t been the one to say that.  And then he was yanked down by a firm grip in his shirt and Kyungsoo was kissing him.  A little sloppy, definitely nervous, but Kyungsoo was kissing him.

Jongdae tilted his head for better access, unable to keep himself from taking control and deepening the kiss.  He licked at the seam of Kyungsoo’s lips, enjoying the startled grunt he got in response.  Kyungsoo, competitive to a fault, fisted a hand in Jongdae’s hair and tugged, angling his head the way he wanted.  He didn’t pull enough to hurt, just enough to send a startlingly intense wave of arousal rushing through Jongdae’s veins.

“Oh gods,” Jongdae groaned, breaking apart to catch his breath.  Under him, Kyungsoo regarded him with a heavy gaze equal parts turned on and wary.  “We should totally do that again.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Kyungsoo breathed, pulling Jongdae back down into a kiss.

Jongdae had imagined how a scenario like this might go many times over the years.  His fantasies had never done the real thing justice.  Kyungsoo’s lips were plush, molding over his sweetly.  When Jongdae sucked on his bottom lip Kyungsoo whined, and when he slid his tongue into his mouth, running it along Kyungsoo’s teeth, Kyungsoo sighed.  Grinding his hips down earned Jongdae a deep groan, and doing it again, with more intention, saw Kyungsoo wrapping a leg around Jongdae’s waist to keep him close.

When they came up for air again, Jongdae caught Kyungsoo’s gaze, holding it as he slowly slid a hand between them to palm at the bulge straining against the front of Kyungsoo’s jeans.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo moaned, head tilting back.  “Fuck, hurry before…”

“Yeah.”  Jongdae quickly undid the button and zipper, slipping his hand into Kyungsoo’s boxers to stroke him skin-to-skin.  “Yeah. I got you.”

Jongdae moved his hand in a steady rhythm, digging his thumb into the slit and smearing precum over Kyungsoo’s dick to ease the slide.  He swallowed down all of Kyungsoo’s sounds, their kisses sloppier but hotter, more tongue and spit than lips.  Jongdae nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand working at the button to his jeans, Kyungsoo pulling him out of his boxers and matching his pace.

“Fuck,” Jongdae grunted, head dropping, fringe hanging in his eyes.  “Kyungsoo.”

“Jongdae,” Kyungsoo grit out.  “Faster, I need to- _fuck_.”

Jongdae sped up, pumping Kyungsoo’s dick to the pace of his own heavy panting.  He could tell by the way that Kyungsoo’s muscles were tensing that he was close and mouthed his way along Kyungsoo’s jaw until he found the patch of soft skin that had Kyungsoo moaning loud and long into the evening air.  Kyungsoo flicked his wrist in a way that had Jongdae seeing stars and he moaned low in Kyungsoo’s ear, praises dripping from his tongue like honey. 

That seemed to be the last straw for Kyungsoo because he was cumming a second later, back arching and mouth dropping into a perfect ‘o’.  _That_ was more than enough for Jongdae’s already frazzled brain apparently as he came immediately after, catching himself before he collapsed on top of the slightly smaller boy.

“Wow,” he breathed.  “That was _not_ how I expected this evening to go.”

“It was good, though…right?”

“Yes.”  Jongdae showered Kyungsoo’s face in light kisses, chuckling when he gave him a disgruntled look.  “Definitely good.”

Kyungsoo nodded.  “Good. Then, are we…”

Jongdae smiled, chest swelling with happiness.  “If you want to be.”

Kyungsoo seemed to breath out a sigh of relief, tugging lightly on a strand of Jongdae’s hair.  “Good.”

Jongdae pecked him on the nose.  “Good.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Half-Blood’s big end-of-summer fireworks celebration meant a bunch of rambunctious demigods running around, shouting, laughing, and just letting loose.  There were no missions, no classes, no training, just food and fun in the sun.

That being said, Chanyeol couldn't help but sulk like a petty child while he sipped at his smoothie.

“I can’t believe you’re surprised they won’t let you anywhere near the fireworks this year after what happened last summer,” Kyungsoo laughed.

“Last year wasn’t that bad,” Chanyeol whined.

“Uh, yes it was,” Jongdae snorted.  “Three cabins caught on fire.”

“We put those fires out,” Chanyeol argued.

“They’re charmed! They aren’t supposed to catch fire in the first place!”

“Now, now,” Baekhyun said, rubbing Chanyeol’s back, which would’ve been a nice gesture if he wasn’t using his foot to do it.  “Maybe they’ll let you do it next year? You know, if you don’t cause any major mishaps between now and then.”

“It’s Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo deadpanned, shifting in his beach chair so that Jongdae could curl on his lap like a giant, smug cat.

“Excuse you,” Chanyeol pouted, “But I’ll be away at college next year. How could I cause trouble here if I’m away?”

“You’re you, I’m sure you’d figure it out.”

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at Jongdae.  “Kyungsoo has been a terrible influence on you.”

“You kidding me?” Baekhyun scoffed.  “He’s always been like this. He’s just not hiding it anymore.”

They all looked at Jongdae, who smiled back as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

The first firework shot into the air and all the demigods on the beach cheered.  The group of friends turned their heads up to the sky, in time to see the second and third explode into showers of shimmering light, followed quickly by the rest.

“I’m going to miss you guys,” Kyungsoo said into the peaceful silence that had formed.

“We’re going to college, not dying,” Baekhyun teased, but Chanyeol could hear the slight waver in his voice.

“We’re coming back here for the summer,” Jongdae told him, stroking his thumb over his knee.  “It’d feel weird not to.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo said.  _But it’ll be different_ , Chanyeol finished in his head.

Out of all of them, Kyungsoo was the only one who was a year-rounder.  Jongdae had the safety net of Camp Jupiter in California that allowed him to return home, but it had never been safe enough for Kyungsoo to go home for the school year.  Not that Kyungsoo usually minded, but now that they were all leaving him…

“This’ll always be home,” Chanyeol declared.  “Nothing will change that. Whatever I learn, I want to come back and apply it here, or in Camp Jupiter. Make things that can protect other demigods. _This will always be home_.”

He turned to beam at Kyungsoo, who was rolling his eyes despite the small smile tugging at his lips.  Baekhyun leaned forward to drape himself over Chanyeol’s back, giving him a peck on the cheek.  Jongdae just watched them all with a quiet smile.

 _Yeah_.  Chanyeol smiled.  _This would always be home._

And then the fireworks started shooting everywhere, sending demigods running.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun groaned, dropping his head onto Chanyeol’s shoulder.  “Please tell me you didn’t.”

Chanyeol crossed his arm, laughing.  “No one can stop my genius!”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please comment and leave a kudos! It would really mean a lot. Also! If you want to chat exo or kpop in general, come find me @nu_exooo on twitter!!


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